Web Shopping Guidelines

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In the October issue of Good Housekeeping, The Good Housekeeping Research Institute reported its results of testing 17 of the most popular infomercial products to find the good, not so good, and those gizmos and gadgets that weren't good at all. Check out our best and worst picks.

In conducting our tests, we ordered the infomercial products by phone (because consumers typically place their orders when they see the ad on TV). Yet, after we went to press, we heard news that customers who purchased Snuggies via the Web were later sent an unexpected rebate check for $8.95. Upon cashing the check, the consumer was enrolled in a discounts benefits program with the Great Fun Company-and agreeing to pay an annual membership fee of $149.99. And while the consumer could cancel their membership at any time, if he or she didn't do so within 30 days of cashing the check, that charge would be made to the credit card that was on file with Snuggie. All of this was listed in the fine print on the reverse of the check, but many consumers missed these details.

Through our investigation, we found 38 pages of angry posts on the Consumer Complaints Board site (complaintsboard.com), about unauthorized credit card charges from Great Fun, most of whom were not aware of the company or why they were being charged.

The take-home message: Always read the fine print on anything you sign. Further, it's important to understand the privacy policy on shopping websites, which must be made available on the site by law. In most cases, a company will have an opt-out option for consumers who wish not to share their personal information with third-party companies. Note that the opt-out is not always clear, and in many cases only protects your email address, but not always your home address or phone number.

If you're not comfortable purchasing a product from a particular Web site but you still really want the product, there are a couple of options:

Do a Google shopping search, or other shopping search engine, to see if the product is available from an Internet merchant you trust.

Check your local drug, grocery, or mass merchandiser store: Many "As Seen on TV" products are, despite what the ads say, also sold in these stores (and can often be cheaper).

If you can only get the item on that one site, contact your credit card company for a one-time-use credit card number in the exact amount of the purchase. That way, you'll get an alert right away from the bank if someone tries to use the number again.